I’m thinking as fast as I can, but it’s just not fast enough. Out here, 1,800m up in the arid Nevada desert on a dead-straight road, everything’s happening very quickly and I’m struggling to understand what’s going on. I’ve just slotted the Hennessey Venom GT into fifth gear at around 290km/h, pushed the throttle to the floor and the small, Alcantara-clad steering wheel is now wildly thrashing from side to side in my sweating fists.
I keep my foot down, hoping the car will straighten itself out, but a split-second later the monstrous 6.2-litre twin-turboed motor unleashes another huge, whistling wrecking ball of power.

As the speedo needle flashes past 320km/h, I realise something truly unbelievable is happening: the little yellow car, still accelerating faster than a bullet, is producing so much torque that both rear wheels have broken traction and started to spin. What the…?
Easing back on the throttle, the turbo wastegates burst open and the Venom GT instantly regains its composure, like a bulldog that has just bitten your arm off then fallen asleep. Unlike me. I can’t quite believe what just happened. I’ve driven pretty much every supercar on sale over the past 25 years, but not one of them has accelerated anything like the Venom. Not the Bugatti Veyron. Not even the Shelby Supercars Ultimate Aero, which I stepped out of just a few minutes before

Micky Ward

I rarely feature athletes in this blog but after I saw the movie, The Fighter, I found it imperative that the story of the boxer, Micky Ward, who is the central figure in the movie, find his own space in my haven of hunks. The movie has gone on to get its share of Oscar nominations in 2011.

As of now, it’s the most nominated movie in the 2011 Golden Globe Awards. A talented boxer, Micky had to fly under the radar of his more flamboyant brother, and in this riveting drama, the conflict of loyalty to family and that pursuit of that elusive dream play out. Mark Wahlberg does a good job portraying Mickey, and although I had a hard time watching the boxing scenes, I think they were authentic enough to show how Micky fought and the techniques he used in subduing his opponents.

Timothy Adams – Sexy Male Model

Timothy Adams, the model turned actor who plays Casey on Sunset Beach, is sitting in the dressing room he shares with co-star Jason George [Michael] when Adams smiles, runs his fingers though his tousled blond mane and says something so obvious – “I’ve always wanted to be noticed” – and it causes the usually low-key George to almost fall off the couch as he guffaws wildly. “You get miles of entertainment sharing a room with Tim,” George says, still laughing. “I don’t need cable. If I’m in the hallway with friends and knock, you know, to see if he is decent, he always says, ‘Come on in.’ Doesn’t matter if he is naked. That’s Tim. He doesn’t care. Let me put it this way, it’s, uh, never dull being around Tim.”

Is it any wonder, then, that the genial and buffed Adams garnered a notebook full of nicknames before Beach even premiered? To colleagues, cast members and assorted NBC employees alike, he’s become affectionately known as The Naked Guy, The Half-Dressed Guy, Pecs, Chester, Ken Doll, Muscles, Bounty [as in the quicker picker-uppper, although he denies going after an inordinate number of babes], and, the latest, Body By Mattel. He loves the labels and is flattered people, well, notice him. “I love to laugh at myself.”

No kidding. Growing up in Harrison, New Jersey, the middle child of five, Adams admits to an early case of “Jan Brady” syndrome. “I was starved for attention,” he says, “but it made me the exhibitionist I am now.” But don’t think this shirtless thing is all for TV. “I was running around this way when I was 8,” he laughs. “I’ve always loved showing off my body.” He knows statements like this make him sound a tad vain, so Adams explains that he isn’t really a total narcissist. Really? Maybe. Adams recalls a childhood memory with a hearty laugh: “My mother remembers that my clothes had to match or I wouldn’t go to school. She says she send me to school this one time and my clothes didn’t match and I cried my eyes out. She swears it’s true.”

Adams would have considered a career in show business early on, but he didn’t think it practical. Instead, he got a degree in computer science and briefly ran his own trucking business. No matter how late the hours get on Beach, or if the show pulls him in 100 different directions with locating shooting, fan or press events, Adams is a cast member who is known never to make a fuss. “When I think of the alternative to this job, sitting in a suit and tie in some office in a 9 to 5 job, bottom line, I could never complain,” he enthuses.

Adams got the idea he might model from his now ex-wife, actress/model/TV personality Daisy Fuentes. He sent out 10 letters and composite photos and got a positive response from no less than the premier agency, boss, surprising even himself. Adams became an immediate smash. Of course, modeling is a strange occupation for someone who declares more than once during his interview “I hate clothes.” But loving being in front of a camera led to acting. Early roles included a terrorist in Die Hard With A Vengeance and Adam McIntrye, a recurring cop on Guiding Light. Talk about diversity “I live my life in extremes,” says the actor, who is equally at home being cad or hero.

Especially heroes. He screen-tested for Hart on GL and Mark on ATWT. “In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t get them because I wouldn’t be working for Mr. Spelling,” Adams raves. Adams was actually NBC’s second choice to play Casey. As fate would have it, the original actor was fired. “After I auditioned and didn’t hear, “says Adams, “I put the show out of my head. Although Casey is me, I figured just getting the screen test was like hitting the lottery. So when they called and said, ‘Can you be here tomorrow?’ I was on a plane, and that’s how it all started.”

While he loves playing his sunny alter ego, even Adams agrees that Casey is a little larger than life and a little too perfect, perhaps. “He’s always so happy,”marvels Adams, “and so positive. I looked for flaws in the guy, and he doesn’t have them.” Jerked around by Rae and then eventually dumped [“I woulda been outta there”], Casey sulked for a few moments. Hey, life goes on. His mother is dying of a brain tumor. And Casey, for some inexplicable reason, can’t seem to scrounge up a date. “Casey needs a woman,” Adams sighs.